California Classroom Science

Truth in Labeling

Posted: Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

by Pete A’Hearn

One of the high schools in my area decided this year that they would not do science fair anymore. It used to be a requirement for honors classes. It was what made an honors class different from a regular biology class. The decision was made because doing an independent science project took too much time away from the preparation for CST testing. Since doing the project wasn’t directly correlated with any CST test questions, it wasn’t deemed to be worth the time spent. Yes, there are Investigation and Experimentation standards on the test, but only 10 percent, and it is often to see how doing an actual project directly prepares the kids for the test.

I only bring this up because this sort of thing happens pretty consistently. “We don’t have time to do labs, because we have so many standards to cover,” is a pretty constant refrain. The drive to continuously improve test scores tends to drive everything that is not obviously linearly connected to a test question out of the curriculum.

It occurs to me that in college they have two different kinds of art classes. One is called Art and the other one is called Art Appreciation. The difference is that in Art, you actually make art. If it is well taught you also learn about famous artists and what they did. In Art Appreciation you read about art, get lectured at about art, and look at lots of pictures. It seems like, in the interest of truth in labeling, we should change the name of most science classes to Science Appreciation. That would let students and families know that they won’t actually be doing too much science in the class.

Pete A’Hearn is the K-12 science specialist in the Palm Springs Unified School District and is region 4 director for CSTA.

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2 Responses

This is really a shame. Eliminating the science fair is a bad practice. Teaching science concepts with hands-on tools like actual science experiments is critical. Application,…anyone,..anyone. I agree with the science appreciation label. When I was in science class all we did is learn about science and not actually do any science. Application teaches more than just the 10% testing.

I think the philosophy of any Science class should be learn by doing. I earned a biology degree at Chico State and never once ran a gel electrophoresis. There were other very valuable labs, but I felt unprepared when I was working at a biotechnology company after college having not ever done something so basic. Being a teacher now, I realize even more the importance of hands on learning in Science and other classes. I would definitely do the labs instead of hammering the standards. By the way, the 7th grade life science classes run gels at my school!

“These teachers are dedicated and accomplished individuals whose innovative teaching styles prepare our students for 21st century careers and college and develop them into the designers and inventors of the future,” Torlakson said. “They rank among the finest in their profession and also serve as wonderful mentors and role models.”

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By the time this message is posted online, most schools across California will have been in session for at least a month (if not longer, and hat tip to that bunch!). Long enough to get a good sense of who the kids in your classroom are and to get into that groove and momentum of the daily flow of teaching. It’s also very likely that for many of you who weren’t a part of a large grant initiative or in a district that set wheels in motion sooner, this is the first year you will really try to shift instruction to align to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). I’m not going to lie to you, it’s a challenging year – change is hard. Change is even harder when there’s not a playbook to go by. But as someone who has had the very great privilege of walking alongside teachers going through that change for the past two years and being able to glimpse at what this looks like for different demographics across that state, there are three things I hope you will hold on to. These are things I have come to learn will overshadow the challenge: a growth mindset will get you far, one is a very powerful number, and it’s about the kids. Learn More…

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“Science and Social Studies can be taught for the last half hour of the day on Fridays”

– Elementary school principal

Anyone concerned with the teaching of science in elementary school is keenly aware of the problem of time. Kids need to learn to read, and learning to read takes time, nobody disputes that. So Common Core ELA can seem like the enemy of science. This was a big concern to me as I started looking at the curriculum that my district had adopted for Common Core ELA. I’ve been through those years where teachers are learning a new curriculum, and know first-hand how a new curriculum can become the focus of attention- sucking all the air out of the room. Learn More…

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Think back on your own experiences with learning science in school. Were you required to memorize disjointed facts without understanding the concepts?

Science Education Background

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This month I was fortunate enough to hear about some new topics to share with our entire region. Some of you may access the online or newsletter options, others may attend events in person that are nearer to you. Long time CSTA member and environmental science educator Mike Roa is well known to North Bay Area teachers for his volunteer work sharing events and resources. In this month’s Region 1 updates I am happy to make a few of the options Mike offers available to our region. Learn More…